In the art of cutting and clinching leads of electrical components projecting through holes in a printed circuit board, it is desirable to provide apparatus which will quickly and easily cut the leads to predetermined lengths. In doing so, all of the leads are normally biased outwardly in opposing directions with preselected leads being bent to greater extents than the remainder of the leads. This helps secure the electrical components to the printed circuit board. The bending of leads in this manner provides a convenient and improved way of attaching the electrical components to the boards to permit handling during subsequent assembly operations prior to a final soldering operation.
A prior art approach to the instant problem is described in U.S. Pat. No 3,414,024 to Anderson et al where rotary, rather than reciprocal, cut and clinch members are employed. Other related prior art apparatus are disclosed in various patents, where clinching and/or cutting may occur before or after insertion of the electrical element into the printed circuit board, including U.S. Pat. No. 3,396,758 to Hall; 3,515,175 to Hudson and 3,519,033 to Peppin.